For another year, Georgia Tech will have to endure the pains of yet another loss to Georgia.
Seven times in a row the Yellow Jackets have lost to UGA. The streak matches the longest run of wins for the Bulldogs in the history of the series and the second longest overall behind Tech’s string of eight victories in a row from 1949-56.
And what makes the sting of the latest defeat for the boys from The Flats hurt even more was the way it went down, with missed opportunity after missed opportunity and a fourth-quarter collapse that left the visitors drained and despondent. Yet, when the dust settled on one of the greatest Clean Old-Fashioned Hate games ever played, the Jackets couldn’t help but already start to think of the 2025 matchup at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“It hurt. It’s gonna be around for a little bit,” Tech linebacker Kyle Efford said. “But, then again, we are gonna use it to fuel us. Just come out and go harder and harder and harder every single day. We’re gonna get these boys, man.”
Efford and his teammates played another impressive game Friday in the 44-42, eight-overtime loss at Sanford Stadium. Only 27 of those 44 points by No. 7 UGA came in regulation and seven of those came on the heels of a Haynes King lost fumble on the Tech 32 with 2:02 left in the clock.
Tech shut out UGA in the first half, the Bulldogs’ first scoreless first half in any game since 2019. It stopped Georgia’s two-point conversion in the second overtime, then again in the third overtime, the fourth overtime, the sixth overtime and the seventh overtime.
Georgia also managed only 108 yards rushing and needed five touchdown passes from Carson Beck to keep its College Football Playoff hopes alive. Tech’s defense did more than enough to keep the Jackets in the game.
“(Defensive coordinator) Tyler (Santucci) came up with a really good plan,” Tech coach Brent Key said. “We were able to affect the quarterback the way we wanted to. They kept fighting, they kept scrapping, they kept battling, kept working to find a way.”
Key and his offensive staff went into the game committed to King, playing the junior quarterback for all but one snap. The previous two weeks Tech had utilized King and freshman Aaron Philo in wins over Miami and North Carolina State, respectively. The two games before that King was held out because of injury in losses to Notre Dame and Virginia Tech, respectively.
King turned in one of the more memorable performances in the history of the rivalry. He threw for 303 yards and two touchdowns while completing 26 of his 36 passes. He ran the ball 24 times for 110 yards and three scores.
He did all that with his sore right shoulder and, by the end, a left knee covered in blood that was seeping through his white pants. After the loss he met with reporters and tried to muster the words to describe the hurt through bloodshot eyes.
“You either get it done or you don’t. We didn’t,” King said. “That’s just how it is.”
King’s fumble in the fourth quarter will be remembered unfairly. He lost the ball after being squarely and viciously hit in the helmet. But before that play, over the course of the night, Tech had missed a field-goal attempt, turned the ball over on downs and ended a 10:36 drive of 90 plays in the second half with only three points.
The Jackets woke up Saturday morning staring at a 7-5 record. They won’t find out the details of their 13th game until Dec. 8. In the days and weeks that follow they will have to find a way to recover from the devastation of the loss in Athens, likely a tough task for a program that prides itself on toughness.
“There’s so much about college football that’s special. There’s so many things as a college football coach that you take pride in,” Key said. “Yeah, the judgment comes from when the scoreboard hits zero, but the things we do with these kids and to see these kids grow and mature, to see them do what they do in school, do what they do socially, do what they do each week on the football field — they’re special. It hurts. It hurts ‘em.
“That locker room, I’ve never seen anything like it. What I know about these kids, what I know about this team, what I know about this school, this emotion will turn into fuel. And we’ll use that fuel.”
NOTES
- Tech right tackle Jordan Williams made his 51st career start Friday, tying the program record of 52 held by Roddy Jones.
- Tech wide receiver Malik Rutherford has caught a pass in 28 straight games.
- King now ranks seventh in Tech history for passing yards in a career (4,752). Justin Thomas (4,754) is sixth.
- King now is fifth in Tech history with 397 career completions. George Godsey (484) is fourth.
- King’s 21 rushing touchdowns are the ninth most in a Tech career.
- Tech running back Jamal Haynes now is 19th in Tech history with 1,867 career rushing yards. Anthony Allen (1,934) is 18th.
- Tech kicker Aidan Birr now is seventh in Tech history with 30 made field goals. David Bell (32) is sixth.
- Birr now is sixth in Tech history with 79 career extra points. Scott Blair (116) is fifth.
- Birr has 169 points kicking, the seventh most in a Tech career. Bell (172) is sixth.
- Key is 18-15 overall as Tech’s coach.
- Key is 5-12 at Tech after a win.
- Tech is 41-72-5 against UGA and 15-33-1 in Athens.
- The Jackets fell to 15-3 under Key when rushing for at least 180 yards.
- Attendance on Friday was announced as 93,033.
